Pok?mon Plagiarism Controversy 'Palworld' Heads to Court... Krafton Also Caught in the Crossfire

Nintendo Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Palworld Developer Pocketpair

Japanese major game company Nintendo has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against 'Pocketpair,' the developer of 'Palworld.'

According to industry sources on the 19th, Nintendo submitted a complaint to the Tokyo District Court the day before, stating that "the game Palworld, developed and sold by Pocketpair, infringes on multiple patents."

Nintendo added, "This lawsuit demands the prohibition of patent infringement acts by Pocketpair and compensation for damages," and "We will continue to take necessary measures against intellectual property infringement, including our brand."

Palworld, released in January this year by the small Japanese game company Pocketpair, is a game where players capture various 'Pal' characters designed to resemble 'Pok?mon' from 'Pok?mon,' and explore a vast open world.

Palworld caused a sensation immediately after its release, with over 2 million concurrent users worldwide, but some criticized it as plagiarism, claiming that Palworld blatantly copied the design of Pok?mon.

In response, Pocketpair stated in a press release, "We have not yet been notified of the specific details regarding which patents are allegedly infringed," and "We will initiate appropriate legal procedures and investigations related to the patent infringement claims."

They continued, "As a small indie game company based in Tokyo, we regret having to spend considerable time on issues unrelated to game development, but we will ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing creative ideas."

This lawsuit is also expected to disrupt the new game project of the Korean game company Krafton. Earlier, Krafton had recently formed a development team under PUBG Studio to create the mobile version of Palworld, 'Palworld Mobile,' and began recruiting developers. They posted job openings for nine positions, including programmers, level designers, UI/UX leads, and 3D environment artists, but these postings have since been taken down.

Krafton declined to comment on the impact of the lawsuit, stating, "There is nothing to confirm."